1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a furnace for the heat treatment of work pieces of the kind in which at least two groups of bar-shaped support elements are attached to two mounting means in a furnace chamber with a substantially circular and preferably helical conveyor system and in which said two mounting means and the associated support elements are mobile both in a vertical direction and in the direction of the circumference of said conveyor system so as to move work pieces along said conveyor system.
2. Prior Art
A furnace of said kind is known from PCT application No. WO 84/02390. A furnace of said kind offers substantial design and operational advantages over common rotary-hearth furnaces. One of said advantages of furnaces of said kind is the particular fitness of furnaces of said kind for nitriding and other heat treatment operations of a similar kind, since the dwell time of the work pieces in each temperature zone of the furnace may be varied easily, in particular if the conveyor system is of a helical design and the thermal insulation between the furnace inlet and the furnace exit poses no problem. Further, maximum use is made of the size of the furnace chamber increasing furnace throughput for chambers of the same size. The energy consumption for heat treatment is particularly low by comparison with a conventional furnace.